by Timothy Rutt
The LA County Sheriff's Department and the Pasadena Fire Department seem to be at odds following Monday's rescue of two Alhambra women at the Eaton Canyon waterfall.
The press release issued by the sheriff -- which Altadenablog received -- said:
The first hiker, who fell approximately 30 feet, sustained what appeared to be two broken femurs, as well as significant head injuries. She was rescued from the canyon by members of the Altadena Search and Rescue team and airlifted to Huntington Memorial Hospital via Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter. The second hiker, who sustained only minor injuries during the hike, was treated at the scene by Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics. She was released at the scene.
That is at odds with the story as told by the Pasadena Fire Department. As reported by Brian Charles in the Pasadena Star-News, the Pasadena Fire Department is claiming that it was Pasadena firefighters who carried the women down from the mountain and transported them both via ambulance, not just one by air.
A photo by the Pasadena FIre Department (see here) would seem to confirm the claim that an ambulance, not a helicopter, was used.
Charles' story says that "Because the incident occurred after dark, L.A. County Fire officials declined to use its helicopter to effect a rescue, Pasadena officials said."
But: in the picture, it is plainly the red-shirted Altadena Mountain Rescue Team (under county sheriff jurisdiction) near the ambulance, suggesting they had a role in evacuating the injured hikers. In addition, there was a county helicopter deployed that night (we heard it), and scanner chatter included rescuers trying to find a landing spot for it (we also heard that) -- whether that qualifies as "declined" rather than "tried but couldn't" may be a matter of interpretation.
Charles' story says that Pasadena officials are miffed by what they perceive as the Sheriff's Department taking all the credit for rescues where both agencies are involved. Eaton Canyon lies partly in Pasadena, and partly in LA County -- meaning that responsibility over the area is a smorgasboard of the city of Pasadena, LA county fire and sheriffs, and the state parks police.
UPDATE: Thx to Frank Girardot for the shout-out.
